On 21-22 February 2025, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, will host the 3rd edition of the G25 African Coffee Summit. Held at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre (JNICC), it will be attended by senior dignitaries from the 25 producing countries. The event explores strategies to strengthen production and increase value added in the African coffee supply chain.
Strategic Framework to Revitalize a Critical Industry
The 3rd G-25 African Coffee Summit is hosted by Dr. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania. This event brings together heads of state from coffee producing countries, ministers of agriculture, private sector representatives and key stakeholders. The central theme, « Unlocking youth employment opportunities through the regeneration of the African coffee industry », reflects a collective ambition. Transforming a natural resource into an engine for sustainable development and encouraging local consumption of finished products before export.
This summit is part of a series of initiatives aimed at revitalizing the coffee sector which, despite its immense potential, is still struggling to reach its full potential. After the success of the 2nd edition in Kampala, Uganda, from August 7 to 10, 2023, this 3rd meeting promises to go further. The challenge is to define a solid framework for collaboration between stakeholders in the coffee value chain and pan-African institutions.
The event is not limited to institutional speeches. The assembly explores specific areas where the value chain can generate employment opportunities for young people. Whether in agricultural production, industrial processing or digital marketing, each link represents an opportunity to create sustainable jobs.
Historical context and founding resolutions
The idea of the G-25 African Coffee Summit was born on November 18, 2021, during the 61st Annual General Assembly of the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in Kigali. The proposal responds to the urgent need to assess the structural causes of the underperformance of the coffee sector. The first edition, organized in Kenya in May 2022, resulted in the signing of the « Nairobi Declaration ». This text officially integrates coffee as a strategic product in the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
This recognition is reinforced in February 2024. The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, meeting in Addis Ababa, formalizes coffee as a strategic anchor product. In the same vein, the ICO, recognized as a specialized agency of the AU, offers unprecedented political and economic levers to support African producers. These advances create a favorable context to address challenges such as access to financing, modernization of practices and climate risk management.
Dominant but underexploited sector
Africa has coffee biodiversity, with Arabica and Robusta varieties producing distinctive aromas appreciated worldwide. More than 53% of its rural population depends directly or indirectly on this crop. Yet the continent remains marginalized on the global stage. In the 2023-2024 coffee year, African exports totaled 16.02 million bags, equivalent to 961,200 tons. This represents only 11.66% of global exports estimated at nearly 137.3 million bags.
However, the area cultivated for coffee in Africa reached more than 4.3 million ha in 2022, the Eastern region accounts for 46%. But behind these numbers lie harsh realities:
- Inadequate infrastructure
- Outdated farming techniques
- Vulnerability to climate hazards
- Lack of access to capital
These constraints not only hamper productivity, but also the ability of smallholders to access international markets.
Race to digitalize and make African coffee sustainable
The African coffee sector faces another major challenge. The European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which requires strict traceability of exported products. To remain competitive, producing countries must quickly adopt affordable digital solutions to certify that their coffee is not grown on deforested land after 2020.
This transition requires three key areas:
- Creating granular databases on forest cover through geographic information systems
- Investing in digital traceability systems adapted to smallholders
- Harmonizing national regulations to avoid a « high-risk » classification
This new regulation is not the only one of its kind. Initiatives such as those of the Rainforest Alliance or the FAO are aiming for the same sustainability objective. Despite this, a coordinated approach remains essential. With the deadline set for December 30, 2025, action must be taken now to protect the millions of jobs linked to the sector and meet global climate demands.
